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Cursed
Cursed was an event involving the arrival of Mei Chun in Haven City, and the resulting struggle against a deadly virus that threatened to overtake China, and the United States as well. The event introduced the virus-mutated humans as a primary threat, akin to something out of a zombie apocalypse. Events Arrival During a rather ordinary day in Haven, a peculiar child came upon the residency of Maverick Tower. She became known as Mei; a Chinese-American orphan who had sought out the help of Maverick and Defender's Throne. First meeting with Anaithnid and Damien, she expressed her reason for coming to Haven City; monsters had been chasing her for the last four years. She believed it to be some sort of curse, as though someone or something had it out for her. She described the creatures as "gross and black, smelling of rotten eggs." While Anaithnid immediately set off to make the necessary preparations, Damien sought to comfort the child. Being that Damien had no childhood of his own, he couldn't help but wonder what it was like. Given how Mei was already afraid, Damien's harsh exterior and lack of compassion only instilled more fear within the child. Just as Damien continued with this, Magnus arrived within the confines of the Tower courtyard. He told Damien to leave the girl alone, which he eventually did. Magnus then had a talk with the girl, which Mei told the exact same story she had told Anaithnid. She explained that she had just come from Hong Kong, knowing that the monsters were still chasing her. Magnus assured Mei that his company would help her, effectively putting her fears to rest. While Maverick and Defender's Throne began to ready their forces for the trip to Hong Kong, Mei was left in the care of Courtney, then later Henry. All the while, Magnus received an update on the situation in Hong Kong, via a news broadcast from a local Chinese news channel. The report was entirely in Chinese, but thanks to translation technology, the language barrier was easily surpassed. The report told of the situation in Hong Kong; the very same creatures that had been chasing Mei now attacked the city in full force, leading to a city-wide emergency in mere hours. The news anchor urged citizens to remain in their homes, so the military could handle things. Before the report ended, it showed a still image of one of the creatures; lanky and pale, it looked somewhat human, but heavily deformed. Knowing that the situation was slowly spiraling out of control, Magnus doubled his efforts to ready his forces for Hong Kong. Later on during the same day, Ashlynn returned to Maverick after a long and tiring day. She had heard news about the girl and sought to investigate it herself. Upon reaching the Tower lobby, Ashlynn greeted the child. However, Ashlynn was quick to realize that she wasn't ordinary. The child's fear seemed to trigger a harsh reaction within Ashlynn, causing her to suffer a myriad of symptoms: migraines, nausea, bloody nose, ear ringing, and the like. The overwhelming feeling caused her to faint immediately. After being rushed off to the infirmary, Magnus helped Ashlynn recover from her various symptoms. The overwhelming feeling had left Ashlynn weak, but she was able to slowly recuperate. Magnus blamed it upon her species; they possessed a particular empathy link, able to feeling what others feel to a certain extent. Knowing that Ashlynn would not be fit for the trip, he told her to stay in Haven and hold down the fort while he was gone. Reluctantly, Ashlynn agreed, citing that she had other business to attend to. Afterwards, Magnus joined Anaithnid upon one of his dropships; the duo, reinforced by two squads of their own men, headed off to Hong Kong to deal with the trouble. The Cursed Ones After arrival in Hong Kong, it had been revealed that Damien did indeed tag along, through means of demonic relocation. Although chastising Magnus and Anaithnid for not bringing him along, the two merely ignored him and first visited the airport terminal that they landed at. Accompanied by members of their own personal squads, they easily infiltrated the terminal and were troubled to discover that it had been entirely abandoned. Nothing walked about within; luggage had been discarded as if citizens fled in a hurry, though there was nothing to suggest a struggle. As the party sought to secure the terminal, they were caught off-guard when a trash can was thrust off from the second floor. Not knowing the cause of the disturbance, guns were aimed and Anaithnid called out towards the source, hoping it to be human. It was revealed to be a middle-aged local, panicked over the mysterious events that had unfolded over the city. When confronted by the party, the Chinese man calmed down and recounted recent events to one of Anai's soldiers, who happened to be a translator. The man's claims didn't say much, only that he had apparently been attacked by a crazy man, and was forced to defend himself. It brought to light the possibility that the monsters chasing Mei had once been human, and now were mutated. In light of this news, Magnus and Anaithnid left half of their squads behind to secure an LZ at the airport; Magnus, Anaithnid, Damien and six other soldiers headed into the city to further assess the threat. The sights of the city did not fair better; abandoned cars lined the streets and there wasn't a soul about. Night fell as they descended into an empty Hong Kong, left to ponder the fate of the millions of inhabitants who had lived there. As the air grew cold and dark, a deafening screech filled the air. Hundreds of feet stampeded down the street, over cars and over asphalt. Unknowing of the threat they now faced, Anaithnid utilized a nearby car and set the group some cover. The creatures that approached were vaguely humanoid, but with monsterous features. Grey, rough skin covered their bodies, and sharp talons replaced fingernails and toenails. Teeth had become razor sharp, perfect for tearing through flesh. As the horde overwhelmed the street, the group fought with all that they were. Heavy caliber weapons exploded through the night, tearing chunks and holes out of the monsters that approached them. Energy weapons fired precise shots that burned through skin and internal organs with ease. Even Damien, the resident mage among them, tried his best to put down the threat. The street was ripped apart as sand was thrown to the wind, turned to glass by a scorching flame. While they attempted to hold off the threat, it was to much surprise when a new player entered the fray. An automobile soon sailed through the air, crashing into a bulk of the horde. A stranger had been witnessing the fight from afar, seemingly having been involved with surviving the city in some way or another. Utilizing a Desert Eagle named Arbiter, the stranger easily torn down through the enemies that showered them. Though, even she had come to learn that by Damien's brash display of power, it had alerted much of the city. Hundreds turned into thousands as the streets turned into a sea of grey. Knowing that further fighting would prove dangerous, Magnus sought an exit strategy. A nearby residential structure was still open, and Magnus quickly ushered everyone inside. Anaithnid, the Maverick soldiers, Defender's Throne soldiers, Damien and the stranger all piled inside before Magnus shoved a vending machine in front of the door, barring entry. Now inside the building, the party was able to rest and better ascertain the gravity of their situation. Although Magnus expressed his desire to know the stranger's identity, she refused to tell; in fact, she didn't say a word. It seemed that her intentions were hers alone to know. After gaining their bearings, the party decided it would be best to head towards the roof, as the street was no longer safe. In their journey upwards, the party soon encountered another member of the diseased; a tall and pale humanoid with a monsterous face. Not wanting to deal with it, Anaithnid was quick to level a shotgun to its face, swiftly blowing it away. Much to the group's surprise, the being was quick to regenerate, sprouting another head as if nothing had happened. It moved to swipe at Anaithnid, but the attack was sluggish; the stranger took this opportunity to aim her Arbiter and blow off the creature's arm. Knowing that the creature would regenerate from most of their attacks, as it soon began to do with its arm, Anaithnid sought another solution. He quickly seized the creature by the waist, before tossing it out a nearby window. The act brought surprise to some of the group, mostly Magnus, who passed it off as a valid method. After their narrow run-in, Anaithnid collected some of the creature's blood for further analysis. Then, the party headed up to the roof with haste. Anaithnid's on-board AI, Eternal, was able to quickly ascertain the genetic make-up of the blood. It was discovered that the creature was indeed human, though there was an over-abundance of cancer cells in the blood. The cancer cells multiplied rapidly, thanks to the presence of an unknown virus. Magnus suggested that was why the creature, which they would soon come to call the Cursed, was able to regenerate so swiftly. Rather than stick around and find out the origin of the outbreak, Anaithnid decided that enough was enough. Hong Kong was too far gone and it had to be purged. He ordered a full retreat for his soldiers, as did Magnus; the team was forced to fight their way back to the airport as the hordes bore down upon their position. Gunfire erupted in the late night, with Cursed being dropped like flies but never seeming to diminish in numbers. As the group reached the airport, it seemed as though that other survivors were being ushered aboard the dropship. Although said civilians were few and far between, there was still quite a lot of them; growing impatient with waiting, Anaithnid quickly tossed the rest of them inside before mounting up. With himself, the stranger, Damien and Magnus, and everyone else aboard, the dropship quickly took off into the sky and left Hong Kong behind. In that instant, Anaithnid made the call; from a Defender's Throne base set on Mars, a massive light cannon charged up and fired a beam composed of solar energy. Mere seconds later, the beam touched down on Hong Kong and incinerated much of the city instantly, bathing it in a fiery wrath. That which didn't turn to ash immediately began to burn, with buildings set aflame across a city that had already been wiped out days ago. The inhabitants of the ship watched on as the city burned, as they would finally head home. For the civilians, they no longer had one.Category:History Category:Lore